


Hold me close

by Mrs_Ressler



Category: The Blacklist (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24735856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Ressler/pseuds/Mrs_Ressler
Summary: Donald Ressler gets a new partner and from the very first day he despises her. He doesn't even know why - maybe it's because she has seen him half naked even before they were introduced? Or because she is the only one who can look behind his carefully build facade of emotionlessness?Cassie Sullivan is 25 and was a special talent in the army. But something happened and she left the Special Forces to join the FBI. Being the new member of the task force - and the youngest as well - isn't easy for her. Especially since her hot new partner obviously doesn't like her...
Relationships: Donald Ressler & Original Female Character(s), Donald Ressler/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is written from both Cassie's and Ressler's point of view.  
> Please keep in mind that English isn't my mother tongue, so if you find any mistakes, feel free to correct me.  
> In this story, Liz is not present. Idk if she died or just moved away, maybe this will reveal itself further along in the story, but it's not the focus. Actually, Keenler is my OTP but I still wanted to write a story with an original character. So here it is.  
> This is my very first story published on AO3 and I'm kind of nervous, so please, please let me know what you think :)

Donald Ressler would never forget the day he met his new partner.  
  
It was a Monday in March and it was pouring rain outside. He got up at six a.m. that day, as he did ever since he left the FBI Academy in Quantico.  
15 minutes later he left his small apartment in workout clothes and headed to the gym on the top floor of the building. He had been living in this complex for five years, ever since he moved to D.C. The FBI owned two whole floors of it and gave those apartments to new-to-town agents to give them time to settle into their job before having to look for a place of their own. It was supposed to be a temporary solution.  
  
Ressler never started looking. He liked living in this building. It was close to the office, had its very own training area exclusively for FBI agents and was affordable. Deep down he knew that they wouldn’t let him live here forever and that eventually he would have to jump over his shadow and make a home, a real one, somewhere in the city.  
But for now, this was just what je wanted.  
  
When he arrived in the gym area, he was, as on most mornings, the only person already up to do some training. At this time the sun was only slowly beginning to rise. Dark clouds moved over the sky and the few people in the streets were carrying umbrellas. Ressler took a moment to stand in front of the top-to-bottom windowfront to take in the sight.  
  
Then he put on his noise-cancelling headphones and started his training on the treadmill. After his usual run of five miles he moved on to the harder exercises: crunches, push-ups and pull-ups. Ressler had this routine ever since he was in college. You could see the training in the definition of his muscles; but he didn’t workout because he was vain and tried to impress the ladies. To be honest, he didn’t care much for women these days. There was hardly any time that he didn’t spend working. He did it because having a daily routine made him feel safe and in control of his life.  
  
He had never missed a day. Only on the weekends he allowed himself to sleep a little longer.  
  
When Ressler had finished his workout, the dark clouds had completely blocked out the sun and lightning lit up the sky from time to time. He did not need to look at the clock in the gym to know that it was quarter to seven. Still enjoying the feeling after the workout, he went down to his apartment to get ready for work.  
  
After a quick shower and a shave Ressler pulled his standard attire consisting of a white shirt and dark dress pants out of his closet and laid everything on the bed. He had just put on his pants and closed the belt, when he heard it. A small clicking noise came from the door. Ressler froze and listened, eyes wary. Did someone try to break into his flat?  
  
Very bad idea, buddy, he thought. Without making a sound he grabbed his weapon and creeped towards the door. He cursed the landlords for not installing a door with a spyhole.  
  
The clicking became louder and more furious. Was he imagining things, or did he hear a woman swearing?  
  
With a swift motion Ressler grabbed the doorknob and yanked it open, all while pointing his gun at whoever might be stupid enough to break into a fed’s flat.  
  
When he opened the door, in stumbled a woman. She tackled him and Ressler’s weapon went flying to the floor and out of reach. The intruder attacked him with a cup of hot fluids that burned on the naked skin of his upper body and soaked into the waistband of his pants.  
  
The two of them, tangled up into one another, crashed to the hard wooden floor. The woman landed on top of him.  
  
Ressler’s instinct kicked in. Who knew who that woman was. Maybe she worked for Red? Or maybe she was assigned with his murder. Ressler wasn’t going to take any chances here. So with a fluid motion he rolled her around, landing on top of her and pinning both of her hands above her head. But if he thought that this battle was won, he was wrong. Suddenly she threw her head to the left and bit into his arm.  
  
“Ouch!”, he yelled angrily, but on reflex he let go of her. She used her now free arms to punch him in the side and then threw him off of her. Ressler landed hard on the ground whilst she grabbed his weapon and aimed it at him.  
  
“Stop!”, she cried, eyes wide. “Why are you attacking me? Who are you?”  
  
Panting and confused, Ressler looked at her. She was tall, had dark blonde hair that she wore in curls, and a fringe, that looked rather out of control due to the fight. Her eyes were blue-green and staring at him in shock. But nonetheless she held the weapon with a steady hand and aimed directly at him like someone who was used to it.  
  
Ressler snorted. “Who I am? Interesting question coming from someone who just tried to break into my apartment.”  
  
“Into…” Her eyes, if possible, grew even wider. She lowered the weapon but still looked at him in mistrust. “This is your flat?”  
  
“Um… yeah.” Ressler got up and wiped his hands over his torso. He didn’t miss the stranger’s eyes following the movement and staring for a second at his abs.  
  
He sniffed and sighed. “Is that coffee?”  
  
The woman blushed and nodded. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to… attack you like this.”  
  
“Then why did you?”, Ressler asked, his tone more than slightly annoyed. He went to the sink and grabbed a paper towel to clean up the mess.  
  
“I thought this was my apartment. I’m Cassie, by the way. Cassie Sullivan.” She picked up some papers from the floor and her bag that she lost during the fight. “It says apartment 5b. That explains why the keys didn’t fit. They must have given me the wrong room number.”  
  
“Well”, Ressler said, rubbing his side where she had punched him. It had already bruised. That woman threw quite a punch. “I’m sorry but I really need to go and change before going to work. You should call the administration and ask them what went wrong.”  
  
“Of course”, she said, blushing further. Her eyes fell on his torso once more. “I’m so sorry about all of this.”  
  
Ressler just nodded and tried to suppress his anger. He hated it when his morning routine got screwed up. His life was unstable enough as it was. He led the young woman – Cassie – to the door. Standing in the hallway, she turned to face him and apologized yet again – but he just slammed the door in her face. When he stalked back to his closet, he realized that he hadn’t even told her his name.


	2. Chapter 2

Cassie Sullivan rarely blushed. She was a confident young woman who appeared strong on the outside. In her job she’d always had to be even stronger, even fiercer than the others to earn their respect, because she was a woman. And later, when she was in command, she had to be capable to keep it. Respect from others was the most important thing in her job. Or it had been in the old one.  
  
Today was Cassies first day at a new job. But the day had started with a disastrous morning that ended with her landing on top of a very handsome – and very naked - stranger and no apartment to put her few belongings into. The situation had been so awkward that Cassie had felt the blush creeping into her cheeks. And she hated her body for betraying her like this. In the army she had seen plenty of men shirtless. But then again, none of them had pinned her to the ground whilst capturing her hands above her hands. Or had been so close to her that she could smell their aftershave.  
  
Cassie hoped to never see that man again that she had spilled her precious cup op coffee on. He had obviously been furious about her attack and had pointed a gun at her. The momentum of the opening door had sent Cassie stumbling into him and crashing to the floor. He must’ve thought that she wanted to raid his flat. Thinking about the situation again, Cassie suppressed a tortured moan and shook her head.  
  
So without having moved into her new apartment and without coffee, Cassie went to the first day at her new office. 

She tried to concentrate on the exciting new task at hand. She was joining the FBI. In fact, she already had joined them a few months ago and had undergone the training in Quantico for six weeks. There she’d met a very polite man named Harold Cooper. On a lunch break he’d sat down next to her and explained Cassie that he was at the Academy to recrute a new member for his secret task force. Cooper said that he was impressed by her results and that Mr. Bowman, the head of the Academy had especially recommended Cassie to him because of her vita.  
  
Now she was ready to join the task force, which, until now, she knew nothing about.  
  
She steered her car into a remote area of DC before security staff showed her the way to an elevator. To her surprise, the yellow cage had only one button and went downwards as soon as she pressed it.  
  
When the elevator doors opened up again, Cassie saw a huge office. Enormous screens hung on the wall opposite of her and pictures of different people were stuck to a glasswall. Three people huddled around a desk. They were obviously in the middle of a meeting.  
  
Cassie’s eyes fell on Harold Cooper who smiled when he saw her.  
  
“Everyone”, he said, speaking up and motioning towards her. “This is Cassie Sullivan. She is the new member of our task force.”  
  
Cassie came closer and nodded at her new colleagues. Cooper shook her hand, then he proceeded to introduce her to the others. She met Aram, the nervous looking IT-crack and Agent Navabi, a pretty woman who had that same air of confidence that Cassie usually wore to work.  
  
Cooper then led Cassie to the back of the room. “I’ll introduce you to your new partner. If you have any questions you can always come to me but I’m confident that Agent Ressler will help you settle into things.”  
  
With that Cooper opened the door to a smaller office with two desks. Cassie entered behind her new boss, curious to get to know her partner. But as soon as she laid eyes on the man sitting at one of the desks, her stomach dropped.  
  
It was the stranger with the red-blonde hair whom she’d assaulted earlier that day. The only difference was that now he was wearing a white shirt. He, too, recognized her.  
  
“Agent Ressler, this is Agent Sullivan. She was a Captain in the special forces and is now joining our taskforce. I’m certain with her extraordinary military skills she will be of great use for us. Agent Sullivan, I’ll let you get settled in.”  
  
Cooper nodded his goodbyes and left Cassie alone with her new partner.  
  
“You”, Ressler said tonelessly. Unlike earlier Cassie wasn’t caught off guard now. She stood as tall as she could and willed her face into a perfect mask of confidence that helped her to survive amongst soldiers her whole life.  
  
She refused to be intimidated by the obvious dislike of her new partner now.  
  
“So it’s Captain Sullivan?”, Ressler continued on with a mock salute. “Guess I’m lucky that you didn’t really plan to assassinate me in my flat.”  
  
Cassie suppressed a grin. “That was what you thought? That I was there to kill you?”  
  
Ressler shrugged “You can never know these days.”  
  
Cassie went to her new desk and tried to set everything up how she liked it. It was strange. She wasn’t an office job kind of person. All her life she had been training to fight for her country. She had been out there, had seen so much blood and loss and terror that it was enough for a lifetime. And yet, here she was.  
  
Ressler cleared his throat, still eyeing her warily. “How old are you?”  
  
Cassie raised an eyebrow. “You come straight to the point, don’t you, Agent Ressler?”  
  
When he didn’t reply, she sighed. “Why is my age of importance?”  
  
“Because you’re young. You’re fresh from the academy. I’m sure that there is even still some green behind your ears. But then again Cooper said that you were in the Special Forces. And I don’t understand it. How can someone like you be a captain at your age?”  
  
“Someone like me?” Cassie’s tone was deadly calm. Her expression was like stone and the authority in her voice gave Ressler a first impression of what made subordinate soldiers respect her. “A woman, you mean?”  
  
“I meant someone your age.”  
  
“I’m 25. The reason that I am a Captain and that I was in the Special Forces is that I am exceptionally good at what I do.”  
  
“Well but to work here you need to be good at investigating things. This is not the army. We don’t shoot at people to end a case. We’re searching for clues, reading people to see if they’re lying. I’m not sure if this is something you excel at as well, army-girl.”  
  
Cassie stared for a long second at her new partner and chose her next words carefully. There was a reason why she had been considered a wunderkind in the army and that was not just because of her tactical brain and her ability to kick butt. It was also because she had a talent to understand people, to see little clues that others missed. This was something that she was good at and it was one of the reasons why the soldiers in her unit had respected her. Cassie always knew things about them that sometimes they didn’t even know themselves.  
  
So now, she let her gaze linger on Ressler’s appearance, on his desk and his attitude. She remembered his apartment, the sparse furnishing and the lack of any photos of loved ones. She considered his age and his position and even the shape he was in and set all of it into a bigger picture. And then she made her move.  
  
“You are a perfectionist”, Cassie said, looking Ressler directly in the eyes. “You want to be the best in everything you do and you expect others to do so as well. You hate injustice and want to do the right thing, yet you don’t always get the chance to. You live for this job and don’t have a social life anymore. You don’t trust easily.” And then, because she got swept away in her words, she continued. “You used to have an addiction. Probably pills. But you’re over it now. Still, every day is a struggle for you. Was that enough people-reading for the beginning?”  
  
At her words Ressler audibly sucked in his breath, his gaze growing even more angry.  
  
A long silence followed in which Ressler just stared at Cassie. She wondered whether she had gone too far for the first day, whether she had forever ruined any possible good relationship to her new partner. After all, she was new here and wasn’t in command like she used to be. There was no need to intimidate Agent Ressler. And yet, there was something about his words before, about his belittling comment about her age… She felt like she had to prove herself.  
  
Fortunately, in this moment Aram broke the silence and told the two of them to come to the briefing for a new case.


	3. Chapter 3

Ressler left his office without another word to his new partner. He was still in shock about her analysis of him. How in the world could she know about the pills? He had been clean for almost five years!  
  
And yet she was right, every day was a struggle. But most of the time his job allowed him to keep busy and therefore not think of this dark period in his life.  
He had obviously underestimated Agent Sullivan. This morning in his apartment, she had seemed so… young, so naïve and unexperienced. Damn it, she even blushed at the sight of his abs!  
  
But here, in the office, she showed a whole different attitude. She was a strong and confident woman who could stand her ground, Ressler felt that. But that didn’t mean that he trusted her.  
  
It was as he had said: This was not the army. Even after her little trick in his office he was sure that she couldn’t do the job, not without all the years of experience that he had. Why did she even leave the army? Surely she would have faced a good career if she was so good at what she did? And why didn’t Cooper hire someone who was actually going to be helpful in the job? 

Aram, Samar and Cooper were standing in front of the monitors. Ressler and Agent Sullivan had just met up with them, when the elevator spilled out Reddington and Dembe.  
  
“So, it is true then”, Red beamed while he took off his fedora. He strode toward the new member of the team and took in the sight of her. “You finally hired someone more competent than Agent Ressler”, Red finished his sentence directed at Cooper.  
  
Ressler bit on the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from replying. By now he was used to be the everlasting victim of Red’s mockery.  
  
“Cassie Sullivan, this is Raymond Reddington. Red, she is our new team member”, Cooper introduced.  
  
“I know, I know”, Reddington said and cocked his head. “I’ve heard all about the amazing Miss Sullivan.”  
  
“You did?”, the addressed asked.  
  
“Why, yes, dear. You are quite the story, Miss Sullivan. So young and already a Captain in the Special Forces. I would’ve been happy to have you on my team, but apparently Harold beat me to it. I take it, you know who I am?”  
  
“I do”, Agent Sullivan said. “You are America’s most wanted criminal.” She looked at Cooper for further explanation.  
  
“You are correct. We have a deal with him that guarantees him immunity as long as he is functioning as our informant. He delivers us other criminals. With his help we have arrested over 100 dangerous criminals.”  
  
Ressler stared at Agent Sullivan to see what she was thinking about this deal. There were days when he himself struggled with the double standards that working with Red brought with it. There was no denying that he had seen that man commit the crimes that Ressler had sworn to stop when he joined the FBI. Now sometimes he needed to look away for the greater good. It wasn’t easy, living with the choices he had to make. He had wanted to arrest Reddington more than once, especially since he had hunted the man for years and years.  
  
Ressler hadn’t known that Cooper left Agent Sullivan in the dark about the purpose of this taskforce until now. But the face of his partner was unreadable, and she just nodded at Coopers explanation.  
  
Reddington gave them the name of a criminal organization that sold girls in auctions to rich men all over the world. When Ressler saw pictures of those auctions and of the girls in golden cages, he felt disgust rise in him. He needed to save them from the unmistakably horrible future that was waiting for them.  
  
When Reddington had told them all he knew about “The Flesh Market”, as the organization was so aptly called, and its leader Richard Menegaldo, Cooper started to give assignments to the team.  
  
“Aram, you’ll try to hack into the website of this market and try to find out when the next auctions will take place. Agent Navabi, you will observe Menegaldo. Maybe you can find out something about his plans. Ressler and Sullivan, you go and talk to the families of the missing girls. See if there is any connection between the victims.”  
  
“Yessir”, Agent Sullivan said. Cooper smiled at her military tone and nodded. Then he left for his office, Red and Dembe following him up the stairs. 

The drive to the first family was a pain. The Greens lived on the other side of the city. Ressler and Agent Sullivan sat in silence; the air was thick with unspoken words.  
  
Ever since that conversation back in his office Ressler’s mind was spinning. He felt anger inside of him and didn’t even know where it came from or why he was so hostile toward Agent Sullivan. He just knew that it didn’t feel right having her on the team.  
  
“How did you know it?”, he managed after 30 minutes of tense silence.  
  
Agent Sullivan knew immediately what he was talking about. “When you get clean after an addiction, it is still hard to shake off the habit of using. If you get into a situation that causes stress, your brain automatically yearns for something that could relieve this stress. All of this happens subconsciously, you might not even notice it. I have seen you in stressful situations twice today. As a result to your physical reaction, you reached into your left pocket. It was empty, so I concluded that you were off whatever used to be in there. And since no alcohol would fit inside your pocket it has to be pills.”  
  
Ressler swallowed hard but didn’t say anything. This woman was frightening.  
  
“I didn’t mean to upset you. I might have gone too far with this. I just can’t stand it when someone doubts my competence.”  
  
“You didn’t upset me”, Ressler snorted, trying not to show her how much her words had hit home.  
  
“Fine”, she said curtly. Just a few moments later they arrived at their destination.


	4. Chapter 4

A few hours later Cassie and Agent Ressler had visited the families of the four girls that were identified on the pictures Reddington gave them. They had asked them to tell them everything about their daughters and if they had noticed anything suspicious before they went missing. Well, Agent Ressler had asked the questions. Cassie had tried to do her part in the questioning as well, but he barely let her do any talking.  
  
However, they learned that there were no obvious connections between the children: they went to different schools, had different friends and different hobbies. But Cassie was sure that Menegaldo must have chosen his victims for certain attributes. A powerful criminal like him wouldn’t just go out and pluck little girls off the street. Too much could go wrong.  
  
Back in the office Cassie grabbed the files of the missing girls and went through the details of their disappearances. She had already known that all of them had been abducted in a 24-hour time period. Now she was looking at a map and placed red needles at the places they were last seen. It was hard to tell where the girl had actually been taken from since no one had seen the abductions.  
  
Cassie had no idea where Ressler had gone but ever since they’d returned, she’d been alone in their shared office. She was glad to finally have a moment on her own. Working with her new partner was going to be hard if the tenseness between them didn’t fade.  
  
Even though she would never admit it out loud, right now Cassie wanted nothing more than to prove herself to him, to show him that against his earlier words, she was capable of doing this job. She knew this battle all of her life. It was not the first time, someone told her that she couldn’t do something. In fact, she had heard these words over and over again. From her Dad, from her teachers, from her Dad, from other soldiers, from her Dad…  
  
And every time that had happened in the past, she had concentrated and proven the opposite.  
  
So she worked even harder, going over and over through the files, trying to find something that explained how Menegaldo was thinking. She considered what little she knew of him and tried to make his profile. There was something, she felt it tickle in the back of her brain, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.  
  
In this moment her phone rang. Cassie jumped in her chair and nestled the device out of her pocket.  
  
“Sullivan?”  
  
“Agent Sullivan, this is Reena Phelps from property administration. You called this morning because we gave you the wrong apartment?”  
  
“Right”, Cassie said, remembering the disastrous morning.  
  
“I’m sorry for the circumstances. The correct number is 5c, so you were just one door off. The keys that you got should fit there. If you need anything else, just call me.”  
  
“Oh, great. Thank you.”  
  
After hanging up, Cassie tried not to think about that Ressler was going to be her new neighbor. Oh, how he would love this. Maybe they could share a ride to the office, and she could borough some eggs from him? Cassie snorted amused at this thought. Just then, Aram knocked and opened the door.  
  
“I found something!” He sounded excited and motioned for her to come outside to the war room.  
  
With a last glance at the files, Cassie left the room and joined the others. Ressler was already standing in front of Aram’s desk. Had he been purposely avoiding her?  
  
Cassie glanced at him. The sleeves of his white shirt were now rolled up. This was the only sign that he had been working for nine hours now. Other than that, he still looked perfect: His hair was neatly gelled, his clothed not crinkled. Ressler caught her glance and held it for a second. His eyes were wary, hostile even. At that, Cassie felt her heart sink.  
  
When everyone was gathered for the impromptu-meeting, Aram told the team what he’d found out about the auction. It took place tomorrow night.  
  
“What place?”, Ressler asked.  
  
“I’m still working to find out”, Aram admitted.  
  
“Maybe I can help”, Samar chimed in. “When I followed him today, I could attach a tracker to his car. The place of the auction is probably somewhere inside his GPS data.”  
  
Aram looked at her like she was the cleverest girl in the world. Ressler cleared his throat and Aram concentrated back on his screens, typing away on his keyboard.  
  
“I’m going to check all the places Menegaldo went since the girls went missing. He probably didn’t abduct them himself but he may have visited them since then. Just a few seconds.”  
  
Aram held out a finger to keep them waiting.  
  
“Aha”, he exclaimed self-satisfied. “There are two possible locations, one in the navy yard and the other in Columbia Heights.”  
  
“Okay”, Cooper said. “Ressler and Sullivan, you take the location in the Navy Yard. Navabi, you go to the other one. You can take a sec-team with you.”  
  
Just when Cooper turned to leave, Ressler spoke up.  
  
“With all due respect, Sir. I think Sullivan should go with Navabi.” Cassie stared at him in disbelief. Did he really just try to get rid of her?  
  
Cooper faced Ressler, his brow furrowed. “And why is that?”  
  
“I…” Ressler was clearly trying to find a believable explanation but failed to do so. The whole team was staring at him. The fact that Ressler had made it clear that he didn’t want to work with her in front of everyone felt like a punch in the gut to Cassie. Not that she wasn’t used to this behavior of men by now. But it still hurt every time. Yet she didn’t show it.  
  
“You’re going with Sullivan”, Cooper said in a tone that didn’t allow any arguing. Ressler rushed past Cassie without even looking at her. She stood there a second longer, breathing slowly and trying to stay calm. Then she felt Aram’s compassionate look on her.  
  
“Don’t worry. He’ll get over it. Apparently, he needs some time to get used to new team members. It was the same when I was new”, Samar said.  
  
“And besides, we’re happy to have you here”, Aram added smiling. He looked at Samar. “Right? I mean, I am happy. It is good to have someone new here to help. And you’re so young.” He paused, looking concerned. “I didn’t mean to… I mean, it is a good thing, you’re young-“  
  
“Aram-“, Samar interrupted his words. He smiled awkwardly, but Cassie thought it was kind of nice to hear that he was glad to have her on the team. Samar nodded to Cassie, then she left to get her things.  
  
Cassie went to get her things out of the office, where Ressler was already strapping on his weapon holster. She decided to ignore him. It didn’t matter what his problem was with her, Cassie would not beg for his respect. So she grabbed her things and headed for the elevator.  
  
They took one of the taskforce’s SUVs. Of course, Ressler drove. There was no point in arguing.   
  
The sun had already set, it was 11 pm. While they drove in total silence, Cassie looked out of the window and on the emptying streets of DC. Her thoughts wandered to the missing girls. Were thy hurt? Were they hungry? Frightened? Cassie was good at hiding her emotions from others but that didn’t mean that she didn’t have them.  
  
When they finally reached the storage building it seemed deserted. There were no lights on inside and no cars parking in front of it. Cassie got out of the car and took a look around. There was no sound except for the steady hum of the faraway main streets.  
  
“Let’s check out the building from the outside first”, Ressler said. “I go left, you go right. We’re meeting in the middle. Once we’ve made sure that everything is quiet, we go inside.”  
  
Cassie nodded and pulled out her gun. She had been handed a Sig Sauer P226 pistol which most Special Agents carried. It was locked and loaded. She also put her earpiece in place with which she could get in touch with her partner when she needed to.  
  
Gun ready, Cassie stalked off into the night, her black boots not making any sound, just like she had learned it. When she had left the Special Forces, the CIA had already knocked on her door to offer her a job. Her skills were rare, and she knew that some of her former colleagues had transferred to Langley, now doing undercover operations all over the world.  
  
But Cassie had declined the offer. When she quit, she already knew what she wanted to do next.  
  
She was kind of frustrated now that she didn’t have nightsight gear. It was pretty dark out here and only the occasional streetlight fought away some of the shadows. Yet everything was quiet. Since she hadn’t heard anything from Ressler, she guessed it was the same on his side. Maybe this wasn’t the right place.  
  
Cassie discovered a window on the far side of the building and climbed up a stack of palettes to have a look inside.  
  
Just when she had a good grip to the windowsill, she heard Ressler’s dark voice in her ear. “Everything quiet. There is a door at the backside. I’m going in.”  
  
“Ressler, wait. I’ll be there in a minute.”  
  
But he didn’t listen. In that second Cassie saw through the window. There were people inside. People with guns. The window was so dirty that most of the light didn’t come through and she couldn’t really see what was happening.  
  
Then she heard the shots.


	5. Chapter 5

When Ressler regained his consciousness, he was locked into a cage. His head pounded and he touched the back of it where something had hit him hard.  
  
When he looked at his fingers, he saw blood. It wasn’t much but enough to make him curse himself. He knew that it had been stupid to go into the building on his own. In his mind he could imagine how his Dad would have scolded his son had he known of his reckless behavior. Ressler often received advices from this reasonable part of his brain and liked to imagine that his Dad was saying these things to him. Even if he never even knew that his son was now an FBI-Agent.  
  
Trying to shake the dizziness from the head injury, Ressler looked around. His cage was the only one in the huge, almost empty area. Had the girls been here before? Had the already been transported somewhere else? And where was everyone?  
  
He did a quick assessment of his status quo. His weapon was gone, as was his mobile. They even took his earpiece, so he didn’t even have the chance to reach out to his new partner.  
  
On the pro side, no bones seemed to be broken and he didn’t have any bullet wounds. When he went into the building, weapon drawn, he had immediately recognized his error.  
  
Five armed men had been waiting for him. He had managed to shoot one of them in the leg an disarm a second one, but he never have a chance to begin with. When they opened fire, Ressler had ducked behind a pillar, but they had quickly surrounded him and forced him to put down his weapon. Then one of them hit the hilt of his rifle on his head and everything went black. 

Ressler didn’t know how long he had been unconscious or how long he sat in his cage in total silence. There was only a small lamp to light up the whole hall which was probably why they hadn’t seen any light from the outside.  
  
He had already checked the cage. It was locked securely. Just when he wondered how in hell he would get out of here, he heard a noise somewhere near. Was that outside of the building?  
  
Ressler heard popping sound that he immediately recognized as shots. Was this Agent Sullivan? Or was she surrounded by the men as well? If he couldn’t put up with them, neither could she.  
  
But he turned to be wrong about that. A few seconds later, two men stormed into the room, running to a locker that held more weapons.  
  
They were still fiddling with the combination, when Agent Sullivan entered the big hall, one of their machine guns aimed at them.  
  
“FBI! Hands where I can see them!”, she shouted with a steady voice. But the two criminals didn’t follow her command. Instead one of them drew a knife out of his pocket and flung it at Sullivan. She ducked in the last moment. The knife hit the wall behind her and fell to the floor with a clink.  
  
The dispersion had worked; in the meantime the two gansters had managed to grab some weapons. But before they could aim at Agent Sullivan, she pulled the trigger twice.  
  
Ressler watched in amazement as he saw that she had hit both men in the right hand. They let go of the pistols and went to the ground.  
  
In this moment, another gangster approached her from behind. Ressler shouted a warning, but he hadn’t needed to. In a swift motion, she shouldered the machine gun and dove for the knife on the floor.  
  
Her attacker fired several shots at her but missed. Sullivan flung the knife again, this time with more precision than the gangster’s teammate. It hit straight into the eye of the attacker. He was dead immediately.  
  
Sullivan seemed sure that all enemies were taken out now and approached Ressler’s cage without any haste. He had watched her fight in amazement. Even though this was just a small taste of her skill, he knew now that she was an extraordinary fighter.  
  
“I don’t know where the keys are”, Ressler said, his voice husky. Sullivan took a look at the lock on the cage and then turned to face the knocked-out gangsters. One of them probably held the key.  
  
But before Sullivan had the chance to search them, a fourth member of the crew staggered in. HE looked disheveled and bloody what made Ressler think, that he had probably been beat unconscious before. The man spotted the female agent and aimed his weapon at her. Then he seemed to reconsider, a nasty smile spreading on his face when he turned to the right and pointed the weapon at Ressler instead.  
  
Sullivan’s cool attitude seemed to crumble, but just a little bit. Ressler could see her mind working, desperate to find a way out of this situation. But then the fifth and final man appeared out of the shadows between Sullivan. He was limping and his pants were in shreds where he had obviously been shot. He rammed his gun into Sullivan’s back.  
  
“That was fun, little girl, but now we have played enough”, he said with a thick accent. Maybe from eastern Europe, Ressler thought. He caught Sullivan’s glance and saw the defeat in her eyes. He nodded to her to tell her that she should stop fighting. There was no need in getting herself killed.  
  
So she obeyed and stumbled forward. The other man opened up the cage while still aiming at Ressler. Sullivan was thrown in. Then they were left in darkness. 

“Are you okay?”, Ressler asked when the men had left.  
  
“Fine”, Sullivan replied curtly.  
  
He sighed and rubbed his face in exhaustion.  
  
“I was wrong. I’m sorry”, he said.  
  
Even though it was almost completely black, he sensed Sullivan’s gaze on him. After all this cage wasn’t made for two, they couldn’t sit without touching the other.  
  
“What about?” She wouldn’t go easy on him. Her tone was cold as ice.  
  
“I shouldn’t have gone inside on my own”, Ressler said after a moment of silence.  
  
“Why did you do it?”  
  
He shrugged, staring at the invisible ceiling. “I don’t know. It was stupid. I don’t usually act on impulse; that is why I am a good agent. I do everything by the book. But today…” He shrugged again, his voice trailing off.  
  
The two of them sat there in silence for a moment. But this time it wasn’t as tense as before.  
  
“Look, Ressler. I get that you don’t like me. It’s okay. You can’t like everyone. We don’t have to get married or anything. But we need to be able to work together on a professional basis. Or else, this is what happens.”  
  
Ressler didn’t get a chance to reply. Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by doors banging open. From one second to another, the whole hall was filled with beaming light. Ressler and his partner squinted at the sudden brightness.  
  
Ressler had flinched an hit his head on the bars of the cage which sent stars over his vision. He cursed.  
  
A man stood in front of the cage, a curious look on his face. Ressler recognized him immediately as Patrick Greer, the right hand of Menegaldo.  
  
“You, sweetheart”, he said with a strange, childlike voice. “Come out to play.” Greer crooked his finger at Sullivan. Ressler watched anxiously how his partner was forced to exit the cage. Two gorillas with weapons stood right behind Greer, so neither of them tried to escape.  
  
The man led Sullivan to a chain dangling from the ceiling. On it was a hook, like something Ressler had seen before in a butcher’s shop. The man gave Sullivan handcuffs that she had to put on herself. Then he attached them to the hook and pressed a button that lifted the chain up. When Sullivan could only stand on her tiptoes, Greer seemed to have an idea.  
  
“Sorry, sweetheart. The game makes more fun this way.” Then he grabbed her shirt and tore it open on the front. Agent Sullivan stared at him in anger, but she didn’t say a word. Ressler swallowed as his eyes were automatically drawn to the scars on her upper body. He could only see her chest and her stomach, but that was enough. Angry red lines were next to round scars where she had obviously taken a bullet. Some were almost invisible, others seemed to be fresh.  
  
Ressler knew the toll that the job could take of your body. But even he didn’t look like that. He had a few smaller scars, most of them on his back and some on his right leg. There was no comparison to Sullivan’s body.  
  
Greer had started his evil game with the agent. Her boots couldn’t reach the floor anymore and her whole weight was now hanging on her wrists. Greer had picked up a stick that Ressler had seen once before. It worked like a taser: you pressed a button and the tip released electricity into everything that it touched. Sullivan had seen the weapon as well, but she didn’t flinch.  
  
“What do you want?” Ressler shouted to keep Greer from torturing her. But he just turned and smiled at his prisoner.  
  
“It is not every day that I get to play with two federal agents”, he said, his boyish voice causing disgust to rise into Ressler’s throat.  
  
Greer touched Sullivan with the electro stick. Her body convulsed with the pain and she let lose a hoarse scream. Ressler watched in sheer horror. Never before had he seen someone being tortured and not been able to stop it. He needed to do something. He couldn’t just let him do this to her. She was his new partner, for God’s sake, this was her very first day! The protectiveness he suddenly felt towards Agent Sullivan was a strange feeling, but Ressler didn’t think about it.  
  
“Stop it!”, he roared, his voice barely his own. Greer just smiled and turned.  
  
“This was only the first level. Let me have some fun, sweetheart.”  
  
And so Ressler was forced to watch Cassie suffer over and over again.


	6. Chapter 6

Cassie fell in and out of weird dreams. In one of them she saw her father, screaming at her that she wasn’t enough, liked he used to do. Others were completely fictional and contained flying dogs. Sometimes she realized that she was hinging form her wrists and was being tortured, but most of the time she tried to zone out.  
  
So when a group of people clad in black tactical armor stormed into the building, weapons drawn, Cassie wasn’t quite sure whether she was still dreaming or not.  
  
Then she could feel the ground underneath her feet. Someone put her on a stretcher. Every muscle in her body hurt, but right now she was just glad that the worst pain was over.  
  
“You’re going to be all right”, said a voice next to her. Then the darkness pulled her under. 

Cassie was woken up by a loud noise. Everything was dark when she came to and she had absolutely no orientation. Panic wanted to bubble to the surface, but she managed to lock it inside as she had learned in years of training.  
  
Instead she took a careful look around whilst her eyes adjusted to the twilight. She was lying in a bed. There was a window. It seemed to be early morning, but the sun had yet to rise. She was not alone in the room. There was a steady beeping and a creepy noise close by. It came in irregular intervals.  
  
Cassie’s finger felt for a weapon on the nightstand. Instead she found a light switch.  
  
As soon as the lamps flickered on, she realized two things. One: She was in a hospital. Two: The creepy sounds came from Agent Ressler. He was snoring and sitting on a chair next to her bed.  
  
Cassie couldn’t believe it at first but then he stirred and opened his eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment without words.  
  
“You’re awake”, Ressler managed, his voice hoarse from sleep. Or maybe from screaming.  
  
Cassie nodded.  
  
“How are you feeling?”  
  
“I’m okay”, she replied without thinking about it.  
  
Ressler raised one eyebrow. “And now the truth, please.”  
  
“I…” Cassie swallowed and closed her eyes for a second. “I have felt better.”  
  
Now that she thought about it, her body started to hurt. All of her muscles were tense after the cramps from the electricity, her head ached and her wrists were sore. Her shoulders were the worst. It felt as if one of her joints had been relocated.  
  
“What about Greer?”, she asked.  
  
Ressler shook his head apologetically. “He must’ve known that the SWAT-Team was coming. He disappeared five minutes earlier.” In his pretty blue eyes lay an expression of sadness. His brow was furrowed and something seemed to torment him.  
  
“What is it?”, Cassie whispered. She didn’t know why she had said it so softly, but it felt right. Even though they hadn’t known each other for very long, she felt that something was on his mind.  
  
“You…”, Ressler started, but his voice cracked. “You had to go through this because of me.” His gaze was intense and full of remorse.  
  
Cassie shook her head. “Don’t.” It was the tone that she’d used for giving orders. But it didn’t work with her partner.  
  
“It is my fault. And having to watch you hang there, while Greer tortured you just for his fun-“, again he trailed of and just shook his head.  
  
Cassie sighed. Maybe she had liked the angry version of Ressler better. She turned to sit on the edge of her bed and faced him. When he refused to look at her, she touched his knee. It was just a short contact, but it had the desired effect. He looked at her now.  
  
“I don’t blame you. Things like this happen on the job. It was a trap. Even if you hadn’t gone in there alone, they might have overpowered us. It was not your fault.”  
  
Ressler didn’t reply to that. Cassie felt that he was still not convinced, so she tried another strategy.  
  
“We’re neighbors now, by the way.”  
  
She could tell that he didn’t know what she was talking about.  
  
“I’ve got apartment 5c.”  
  
“Oh”, he said, the ghost of a smile creeping over his face. “Great.”  
  
“No need to lie, Ressler”, Cassie said, rolling her eyes, but grinning. He grinned back at her. Maybe this partnership wouldn’t be so awful after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Harold Cooper forced Cassie to stay in the hospital for two days. The doctors had said that Cassie could suffer from arrhythmia and wanted to keep her under observation. 

On Thursday she was cleared to go back into the office. She learned that there had been several arrests after her rescue a few days ago. The team had been able to stop the auction and to free the girls. That was pretty good news.  
  
Menegaldo, however, was still on the loose. To find a lead to his whereabouts, they interrogated his retinue. Cassie was even allowed to do one of those interrogations herself, even though Agent Ressler had only agreed because he could watch from the mirrored glass and was able to intervene should she need help. Cassie was fine with that. 

On Friday she brought a whole box of donuts into the office to celebrate her first week in her new job. Aram ate three of them and was high on sugar all day long. He was speaking even faster and the speed of his typing reached a whole new level.  
  
After work, Cassie went out to meet her old friend Josh in a bar. They had known each other basically since they were born. Their Dads had been best friends and, both soldiers, had been stationed to the same posts. Josh and Cassie had grown up together and even though they hadn’t seen each other for some time now, their connection reestablished immediately.  
  
Josh had chosen not to follow in his Dad’s footsteps, as Cassie had. He was a lawyer now, working in DC. Cassie had never seen so many emojis in one text like in the reply she got from him when she told him she’d move there.  
  
Cassie had a good time and they talked about everything from sports to her new job – at least the things that she was allowed to tell him, which really wasn’t that much.  
  
But when the clock hit midnight, Cassie felt her bed calling to her and so she bid Josh a good night and went home. She’d had two or three beers, not too much, but she wasn’t used to drink. She enjoyed the slightly buzzing feeling that the alcohol gave her.  
  
When the elevator in her building had reached her floor and opened with a ping, Cassie stopped dead in her tracks. There, on the floor of the hall, sat someone.  
  
It was Agent Ressler, staring at his apartment door as if he could open it with the power of his thoughts.  
  
“Hey.” When Cassie approached him, she noticed that he was wearing gym clothes. She had never before seen him in anything other than his suit. It was kind of strange and took away some of the aloofness that her partner usually exuded.  
  
“Hey”, he sighed in reply, lifting his gaze. His eyes wandered over her outfit and his eyebrows raised in surprise.  
  
“Did you have a date?”  
  
Cassie had changed into a dress after work and had put on some more makeup than she usually wore. It wasn’t because of meeting Josh; she had just felt like it. There were so few occasions in her life to get dressed up that she gladly took them whenever she got the chance to.  
  
“I went out with a friend”, she said.  
  
“I see”, he smirked. She didn’t bother to reply and fished for her keys.  
  
“So, are you going to tell me why you’re sitting in the hall? Is there a spider inside your room? Should I kill it?”  
  
Ressler laughed. Cassie was so surprised by the warmth of this honest and warm tone that she could just stare at him for a second.  
  
His whole face lit up and wrinkles built in the corner of his eyes. He looked really good when he laughed, Cassie realized.  
  
“Not today, but I appreciate the offer. I might hold you to that one day. I’m waiting for the locksmith. When I came back from training and wanted to unlock the door, my key broke off.”  
  
“Oh. How long have you been waiting?”  
  
“Around two hours.” Ressler sighed.  
  
“Um… Do you want to come in? My door is still intact. You don’t need to wait in the hall.” Cassie didn’t know whether it was a good idea to ask him inside, but she also didn’t want to leave him out here. When Ressler didn’t move, she added:  
  
“I promise, there are no spiders in my apartment.”  
  
He laughed and got up. His knees popped audibly, and he stretched like he had been sitting there for days.  
  
Closing the door after him, Ressler looked around in Cassie’s apartment. Since she’d arrived a few days ago, she didn’t have the time to add any personal touches to it. It looked even more clinical than Ressler’s flat.  
  
“Do you want anything to drink or to eat? Or, I don’t know, do you want to shower?”, she said with a look on his sports clothes.  
  
“I don’t want to impose on you. It’s fine. I’m sure the locksmith will be here soon.”  
  
Cassie cocked her head. “I thought we weren’t doing false niceties.”  
  
He cast her a sheepish smile. “Yeah, right. Some food would be great.”  
  
“There should be some leftover pizza in the fridge”, she told him. Since their apartments were identically shaped, she was confident that he would find the kitchen without problems.  
Then Cassie took off her heels, sat down on the couch and turned on the TV to evade awkward silence.  
  
A new episode of Code Black was just starting. Cassie suppressed an excited squeal that was totally to blame on the beer. This show was basically trash. But Cassie loved it anyway. It was about an FBI special unit hunting serial killers all over the US. In Cassie’s opinion the two protagonists were meant to be together. They were partners and either of them had their own problems. But Cassie had wanted them to fall in love from the first season on. And still, the writers of the show hadn’t granted her that wish.  
  
“What are we watching?”, Ressler asked, returning with a plate of cold pizza slices. He sat down next to Cassie on the couch. He did it so comfortably and casually that it felt like they’d been doing this for the last few months.  
  
“Oh, this is just…” Cassie cleared her throat, suddenly feeling protective over the show, but embarrassed at the same time. “This is Code Black. Have your heard of it?”  
  
When Ressler shook his head, she explained the gist of the show. As the episode unfolded, Cassie started to explain more and more about things that had happened before and the relationships of the characters. First, Ressler sat and watched in silence. But then he really seemed to get into it and started to comment on the investigation and fighting techniques. He even guessed who the killer was before it was revealed.  
  
Cassie was surprised to see this side of her partner. He seemed so much more relaxed than he was in the office.  
  
They ended up watching three episodes in a row before Ressler phone buzzed. The locksmith had arrived.  
  
Cassie yawned and walked him to the door. Suddenly there was a tension in the air between them that hadn’t been there before. It was like the two of them realized that they’d actually had a good time with each other, without ever bickering or being frustrated with the other one.  
  
Ressler turned to Cassie as he went for the doorknob.  
  
“That was nice. We should do this again some time”, he said.  
  
“It was, wasn’t it?”, Cassie replied, feeling self-conscious. She didn’t know what to do with her hands. Did they always just hang down at her sides like this?  
  
Damn it, she thought, what’s wrong with me? When she lifted her eyes to Ressler’s stunning blue eyes, they locked their gaze for a few seconds, neither of them wanting to look away. Cassie felt like she was a teenager on her first date. She shook her head slightly to dismiss the thought. Maybe she needed to sign up on Tinder or something like that. Ressler was the last person she should feel those things around.  
  
“Good night”, Cassie said, leaning back against the wall. “If something goes wrong with the locksmith, you know where to find me.”  
  
Ressler smiled at her – a real, actual smile. It was gorgeous and showed two dimples. Cassies stomach flipped, but she blamed that on the alcohol she’d consumed earlier.  
  
After her partner had left, Cassie had really irritating dreams.


	8. Chapter 8

The weeks went by and Agent Sullivan got more and more used to her new job. The more she proved herself worthy and helpful the more Ressler’s apprehension against her subsided.  
  
On Friday nights they watched Code Black together. At first, they had taken turns at finding stupid excuses to come over, like there was a power outage in one of the apartments, the neighbors were being annoyingly loud or – in Ressler’s case: There was a spider in his room.  
  
But the truth was: They enjoyed sharing these hours where they could just be themselves and got along without their usual arguments at work.  
  
On one of those occasions, Ressler suggested that they should train hand-to-hand-combat together. He wanted to see if he could learn anything from his partner’s experience and make sure that his skills didn’t get rusty.  
  
They met on a Wednesday after work. Ressler was running a few minutes late and his partner was already in the gym when he entered. She wore black tights and a white shirt. Her curly hair was pulled into a ponytail. She was just wrapping her hands in bandages and had her back to him. Ressler took the unobserved moment to let his gaze linger on her. There was something about his partner that made his heart do stupid things. Sometimes it skipped a beat when he saw her only to beat on double speed afterwards. Occasionally he felt a nervous tingle in his stomach as well. He should definitely go and see a doctor about this.  
  
“Hey”, he said as he approached her. She whirled around to him and greeted him with a smile that he tried to ignore. In the office she was all ambition and determination. But in these moments, when it was only the two of them, she seemed to show him her real self.  
  
They did a quick warm up before they went to do the actual fighting.  
  
“First round to see what we’re working with?”, Ressler suggested.  
  
Sullivan answered with a challenging grin. “I was going to go easy on you. But if you want to do this the hard way, sure.”  
  
She positioned her feet hip-width apart and raised her arms, hands curled up into fists. Ressler did the same. His last combat training had been a few years ago and his skills desperately needed a refresh. But still, he was a good fighter and had only lost few fights in his job.  
  
He advanced on her and tried to land a hit on her head. Ressler had expected her to block the hit and had wanted to place a second one to her ribs – but he never made it that far.  
  
Instead Sullivan grabbed the fist that Ressler had swung at her, twisted and shoved her weight into him at the same time. Using the momentum, she swung him over her shoulder and threw him on his back.  
  
He wasn’t prepared for the impact. It knocked his breath out of his lungs for a second. Damn, this girl was good. He had underestimated her.  
  
“Whoa”, Ressler managed, when his lungs had refilled with air after the impact.  
  
“Sorry”, Cassie grinned. “That wasn’t nice.”  
  
He chuckled. “We’re not here to be nice, Sullivan. We’re here because I want to learn exactly these things from you.” 

They spent the next two hours working on Ressler’s footwork. First his partner taught him how to defend her move so that he wouldn’t land on his back but could take her out instead. Then they moved on to him being the one trying to flip her around.  
  
Sullivan explained the basics of the move to him. Ressler learned quickly, after all, he was a trained agent. It took him only a few tries before he managed to do the trick. When he succeeded the first time, he immediately knew that he’d put too much force into the move.  
  
Sullivan landed a little bit too hard on her back. Ressler saw that she was in pain even though her face showed it only for a split second.  
  
Ressler hadn’t expected the sudden shift of weight and fell on top of her.  
  
“Are you okay?”, he asked alarmed, while propping up on his elbows right next to her face. She nodded but tried to hide a wince.  
  
“I did it wrong, didn’t I?” Ressler sighed and felt sorry. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her. He was looming over her, so their bodies were pressed against each other. This close he saw that her green eyes had a few specks of gold in them. The sweet smell of her hair hit his nose. She smelled like summer, like sunshine and flowers.  
  
“For a training fight that was rather rough. But for a suspect on the run, this intensity would be just fine”, she moaned.  
  
“I’m sorry, Cassie”, Ressler said without thinking.  
  
He could see that she widened her eyes as he called her that. He’d never used her first name before. Ressler deceived himself by thinking that using her last name would keep a certain distance between them. But who was he kidding, he thought, while his gaze dropped to her pink lips. The professional distance was long gone, at least on his side. Ressler swallowed and cleared his throat, realizing that he was basically lying on top of his partner. If she knew about his thoughts she would probably be disgusted.  
  
Not only was she almost fifteen years younger than him. He knew her enough by now. She would never start a relationship with a coworker. Being respected, especially by men at work, was too important to her. She would think that Ressler appreciated her for nothing other than her body. And that was so not the case. He knew that Cassie was more than capable to do her job. He just didn’t show it to her.  
  
What the hell am I even thinking, Ressler scolded himself internally. It wasn’t as if he wanted to start a relationship with his partner. Right? She was hot, yeah, but he lived for his job and didn’t have time or the emotional capacity to care for someone else. Nothing had changed.  
  
Ressler cleared his throat and got off of her. His body immediately missed her warmth.  
  
“Should we try again? I promise, I’ll go easy on you this time”, he said.


End file.
